A MidTwilight Nightmare
by mywildimagination
Summary: Carlisle was messing around with werewolf - sorry, shapeshifter - DNA and has found out something more powerful than an atomic bomb. What happens when it falls into Jasper and Emmett's hands?
1. Chapter 1

_Carlisle's Point of View_

I was up late one night working in the lab. That's right, I have a lab. Just a small one, though, for genetic testing. Which was what I was doing. But I had never thought I'd make such a discovery. This wasn't what I was researching at all. I reread the computer screen. I peered once more into the microscope. Oh, Volturi's wrath. This could end life as we knew it!

If I was a sane doctor, an investigating personnel, I would delete these findings from my computer and destroy the DNA I had obtained. The problem was, the word "sane" does not define me when it comes to discoveries of the supernatural. I am a mad scientist at heart. I could not bear to throw away my files...my files.

I glanced at the commonplace tawny folder on my desk. It read: HOMOCANINIC DNA TESTING. I quickly printed off the readings on the monitor and carefully put them inside. I debated sealing the folder with duct tape, but it wouldn't stop anyone I worried about. I added in red sharpie: DO NOT READ. MAY END LIFE AS WE KNOW IT.

I just hoped I wouldn't hurt anyone by keeping this to myself.

_Edward's Point of View_

It's not interesting to be an unthirsty, single vampire on a sunny day. Members of your coven that have mates tend to _like_ staying indoors, more than _you_ would like, and then there isn't much to do outside. I used to wish that the Volturi would set up some vampire dating sevice. Not that I need one now.

Because when you're a _married_ vampire with a half-vampire _child_, you have a world of possibilities open.

The three of us were spending time in an open meadow off the one-ten, down a nonexistent trail. We were reminiscing Renesmee's first birthday a few months ago. She now looked about ten times her age.

"And then Uncle Emmett smashed Momma's face into the cake."

Bella, the love of my life, the very cor - okay, I know I say that too often, but I'm so pathetically in love that a few times every other week is never enough. Anyway, Bella shuddered and exclaimed, "Eeew."

I smiled sympathetically. "I don't blame you."

"Not just the _taste_. I got _frosting grease_ in my _hair_."

I chuckled. "You _would_ be worried about your hair."

Bella and Nessie giggled too. "Momma, you're only just over a year old. You should kick Uncle Emmett's marble behind at arm-wrestling again."

Bella smiled. "But I already did that. After I washed the frosting grease out of my hair."

"Uncle Emmett doesn't know how to pick his fights. You could get him to argue over _anything_," Nessie grinned.

I heard something. The taste of two minds, familiar, never far away. "You might get your chance sooner than you think," I responded. "He and Jasper are coming right now."

They were trying to keep something from me. Jasper was translating "Love Song" by Alicia Keys into Chinese (Mandarin, for anyone else that knows the dialects). Emmett was wresting the backwards version of the alphabet. Sorry, _English_ alphabet. Well, we can't all be sagaciously smart.

Emmett was at _u_ when two rainbows came flying in, not slowing down as they passed over me and my family. Hold on - what were they kidnapping Bella and Nessie for? I grabbed for Jasper, who at that moment already had Renesmee. And...um...I kind of _missed_...

Ugh. Listening to Emmett's thoughts were so murderously pathetic. _Let's see,_ s_...now _leprechaun_, right? Crap, I'm giving away the plan to... Oh yeah! _O_ is next!_

_Leprechaun?_ Why did I ever invent that idiotic game? Jasper must have come up with a plan to get something from me. Was it a chance to borrow my stereo?

I broke out into three-yarded strides. Maybe they needed my cooking skills to set up another mythological-creature barbeque. For the law's sake, they could have just _asked_! This was highly inconvenient.

_Renesmee's Point of View_

I liked seeing Momma go nuts in Emmett's stronghold. Twice we had to stop to get her in control. I tried running away, but Uncle Jasper always got me before I could go too far. I still didn't understand their motives in this. Maybe they were hypnotized. Could vampires get that way? Well, maybe Uncle Emmett. I could swear that his eyes went swirly every time he watched _Blue's Clues_.

I leaned over Uncle Jasper's shoulder and called to Momma, "Do you know what they're doing?"

She stopped trying to bite Uncle Emmett so she could answer me. "I think they're playing Leprechaun!"

"What?" I hated having to use my vocal chords, but my uncles were running wide.

"It's a game Edward invented. Do you know the saying, 'There's a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow'?" she asked.

"No," I answered. It didn't sound like something vampires would say.

"Well, these are the rainbows - " she pointed behind us " - and Emmett and Jasper are the leprechauns - "

"And we're the pot of gold," I finished for her. Momma nodded. "But how does Daddy get us back?"

"He has to trade for something," she says, looking thoughtful.

"And what would they trade for?"

"I dunno. It must be something he wouldn't give to them otherwise."

"Daddy's a nice guy. What wouldn't he give his brothers?"

Momma looked up at Uncle Emmett's hulking figure and then back at me. She had wide eyes and an upside-down smile. "That's what I'm scared to find out."

There was an awkward pause.

"So _Daddy_ made up this game?" I asked. It didn't sound like something he would do.

"He used to get really bored, you know? Especially on sunny days like today." Momma's mind was wandering again. She actually succeeded in pulling Uncle Emmett's arms off her (not _all_ the way off, of course), which caused us to stop again.

"Stop trying to cheat, Bella," Uncle Jasper complained. I put my hand to the side of his head, letting him know that Daddy would be catching up. They took off so quickly, my curls were flying all over the place.

"You know what would be helpful, Bella?" Emmett mused. "You could expand your shield so we don't have to keep Edward out ourselves. I'm running out of letters."

I had no idea what he meant by the whole _letters_ thing.

"You hypocrites," Momma said spitefully. "Who's cheating now?"

"I'll take that as a no," Uncle Emmett smiled.

"Emmett, are you planning on going to Canada or are we stopping here?" Uncle Jasper asked.

We came into the midst of another _very_ familiar clearing. Daddy was already there, with a very annoyed expression on his face. "You better have a good reason for almost literally dragging us down here," he snarled.

Momma needed both my uncles to keep her down, so I ran over to Daddy before Uncle Jasper could scoop me up again. He kept me in a tough stronghold that made me feel safe. I knew it was childish, but I stuck my tongue out at the male vampires on the other side of the clearing.

Uncle Emmett tensed, which made me smile, but Uncle Jasper calmly pulled out a file that I could almost read from ten feet away. HOMOCANINIC DNA TESTING, it seemed to say. There was a warning below it. "We just need you to tell us what all the scientific stuff in here says," Uncle Jasper suggested.

"You've been sneaking around in Carlisle's lab again, haven't you?" Daddy demanded. "Don't you two know what 'Do not read' means?"

Uncle Emmett answered him, like the moron he is. "Yes, we do! It means Carlisle doesn't want us to read it!"

Uncle Jasper rolled his eyes. "I looked through it before I decided to help Emmett. This genetic information has something to do with werewolves."

"Why is Carlisle studying the Children of the Moon, anyway?" Daddy asked. I think he knew the answer, but he wanted Jasper to say it out loud.

"I mean shape-shifters." Uncle Jasper corrected himself. "We think it has some information about imprinting."

I gave Daddy a quizzical look and put my hand to his face. What _was_ imprinting, anyway? He didn't answer me.

"I'm not reading it," he declared. "If Carlisle thinks we shouldn't know this, I'm respecting his judgment."

Uncle Jasper sighed dramatically. "Emmett, we'll have to call Alice and Rosalie. Tell them to give Bella a makeover and a really flashy outfit."

Momma screamed. "DON'T YOU _DARE_!" She started to struggle again. "EDWARD!"

"Momma!" I cried.

Daddy looked pained. "All right, all right! Hand me the files."

Momma stopped moving. Uncle Jasper, grinning evilly, walked across the field, and laid the folder in Daddy's free arm.

At that moment, Momma broke free of Uncle Emmett's grasp. Daddy took off, too, and we ran back through the woods, flying across the river, and through the back door of our house.

As Daddy set me down, there was a knock at the door. "Venom!" he spat.

Momma answered the door. It was my uncles. "We just want to let you know," Jasper said, "that if you give those files back to Carlisle, we're going to steal them again and show them to Sam and Jacob. We want to know what they say in twenty-four hours." Then they left.

Momma turned to Daddy with a serious look on her face. "We have to destroy those files. Imprinting is pretty powerful. If Jasper and Emmett figure out how to mess around with it, things will change. For the worse."

It didn't look like Daddy agreed with her. I don't know why.


	2. Chapter 2

_Bella's Point of View_

That night, Edward and I had our first - no, second, because there had been the slight disagreement on our honeymoon - argument as a married couple. If you could call it that. We were only actually arguing for about fifteen minutes.

After Renesmee had been put to bed, Edward and I went down to our bedroom. He was quieter than usual and I was sure I knew why.

"You can't honestly be thinking about reading that file," I told him.

"Bella, I just want to look. I only need to know whether it will help Nessie or not." He glanced at the folder on the nightstand.

I furrowed my eyebrows into a set expression. "Look, I'm not a big fan of Jacob and Nessie together, either, but honestly, how much can a bit of knowledge do?"

"What if it's more than that? What if those things can change?" Edward breathed.

"We can't send Jacob back into that depression again," I said, wincing. I couldn't bear having to put him through what he had been through up to the time of Nessie's birth. It had been a hard time for both of us - but not so much for me, since I had Edward. It was mostly unfair for him.

"I don't want to hurt him either. If we can't help Renesmee without hurting Jacob, I promise I won't tell Jasper and Emmett a word about it. I'll destroy the evidence. They won't be able to do anything about it."

I shook my head. "Alice will know, and she will tell Jasper." I knew how dedicated the two of them were. She was behind him in this, and it was the same way for Emmett and Rosalie.

"And how will they stop us? They can't make me give up anything I know. They are not willing to bring it to a family fight, because Carlisle and Esme will be involved, and will take our side. And if they obtain the files before we burn it, they will not want to hurt Jacob, either. There's a reason Carlisle thought that this information would end life as we know it," he orated.

I sighed. "I shouldn't say yes."

"But you will?" Edward asked hopefully.

I wasn't really sure. I was ready to give up a lot of things to keep Nessie away from Jacob and his wolfy stuff, but I didn't want anyone to get hurt. And even if Jacob was unharmed, would it really have the same effect on Nessie? Would she feel as though she had lost a friend? I didn't know if this was best for her.

A scream came from the other side of the house. It wasn't two seconds before Edward and I flew into Nessie's bedroom. She was upright in her bed, a shocked expression on her face. She might have been ready to cry.

"What is it, sweetie?" I asked, scooping her up and putting her in my lap. "Did you have a bad dream?"

She flung her little arms around my neck, silently telling me about her nightmare. Black-robed, pale figures with red eyes attacked our home. Edward, Jacob, and I were ripped to shreds, and Charlie's neck was broken and bitten until there was nothing but a pale corpse. The rest of our coven - Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and even Emmett - they were gone, too. Renesmee ran to our aid, but the Volturi paid no attention to her. She could not fight them, and they didn't kill her, to end her torment. I winced at that last thought.

I wished that she had never known the Volturi had existed. They were enough to give anyone nightmares - I knew from experience. It was even worse for her because the dream rankled with a taste of guilt, the feeling that it was all her fault, and she wasn't being punished like she should be.

"It's all right, Nessie," I told her. "They have no reason to hurt us anymore. They won't come back."

She sobbed into the hollow of my neck.

"Nessie, they were only thought they were protecting the other vampires. They didn't want to hurt us. They would rather be our friends," Edward crooned beside me.

An errant thought took form in her head. In it, Edward and I were wearing black cloaks and had bloodred eyes.

"Never," I whispered in her ear.

But Nessie still felt that she could never trust the Volturi; she would always fear that they would take her loved ones away from her, one way or another.

"Do you want me to sing to you?" Edward asked.

She turned her head to look at him and nodded. I began to rock her gently as Edward's beautiful voice softly rose. My mind began to wander. I couldn't let my daughter be stressed like this. Though there was nothing I could do about the Volturi, I could try to let nothing come up on top of it. If I could let Nessie be free and not bound to anyone without a choice in any eventuality, then I would take the risk.

My shield shrank with difficulty, but I let Edward know that I now felt that we should learn the contents of that file.

_Jacob's Point of View_

Oh, boy! I was going to Edward and Bella's! Seeing as I do that every day, I probably shouldn't be so excited. But hey! Who else could have life so perfect for them? Just when I thought my life was going under, Nessie came in and made it all better. I _love_ being a half-human wolf!

When I came to the cottage door, there was a sign:

JACOB, WE'VE GONE TO ESME AND CARLISLE'S. SEE YOU THERE!

Hmmph. Vampires. Early risers, the lot of them. Then I remembered that they didn't even sleep.

I knocked on the door of the Cullen Headquarters. That's weird, I hadn't thought of this house that way for a long time. Especially since it meant so much to Renesmee...

Emmett answered the door. "Hey, Jacob," he greeted, grinning.

"Is Nessie here?" I didn't bother saying hello.

He grinned even wider, looking very mischievous. "She sure is. Edward and Bella too. They're all in the lab."

"The _lab_?" I asked wonderingly.

"Carlisle's lab," Emmett informed me.

"Carlisle has a lab?"

"Yeah. You want to go see it?"

He said _go see it_ like a sadist would say _hunt vampires_ or _drown live puppies_. My wolf instincts were going crazy.

"Oh c'mon," he said mysteriously. "_Nessie's_ down there. You don't want to say hello?"

"If she's really down there..." Emmett was scary in a way that I have never seen a vampire be scary.

"Why would I lie to you, Jacob?" he asked innocently, batting his eyelashes.

Forget scary. That was just plain creepy.

"Well..." I cleared my throat. "This might be a plot of Rosalie's to keep me away from Nessie."

"Oh yeah, Rosalie has a sadistic plan to kidnap a child and the kid's parents are in on it," he said sarcastically. "Or did you forget that Bella and Edward are down there?"

I guess I did. "Fine, I'm going to the lab," I growled. "This better not be a trick."

Emmett giggled girlishly. "Follow me," he ordered, walking through the living - I mean sitting - room, towards the basement.

_This has got to be a dream_, I thought, trying to pinch myself awake. "Ow!" I cried aloud, causing Emmett to give me a look. I smiled apologetically, and he turned away.

The Cullens' basement was huge and had a lot of antiques. Ancient diplomas and award plaques hung from the walls, and the way that some of the old pictures looked at you could freak you out. If any part of the Cullens' house was spooky (besides the fact that its inhabitants were vampires), this would be it. Finally we came across a door that read: CARLISLE'S LAB, and beneath that I saw GONE FISSION.

"Isn't _fission_ a term relating to atoms?" I asked Emmett.

"I dunno," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Alice made it up."

"But Carlisle's a doctor," I pressed.

"What's your point?" he asked testily, then walked through the door.

Carlisle's lab wasn't like those sinister places were scientists mix chemicals and blow stuff up on TV. It was more like a mix between a doctor's office and a high school lab, with a counter, a sink, a table with the paper on it, a microscope (I didn't see any goggles, though I guess Carlisle didn't need any), and a lot of equipment I didn't recognize. There was also a swivel chair. Oh, phasefactor, I _love_ swivel chairs.

"Hey, Jacob," called Bella, looking squeamish. She was up to something, too, whatever Emmett was giggling about.

Edward, however, seemed as though he had no qualms at all. "Hello Jacob," he said with a smile that Bella once told me _dazzles_ people. It doesn't make any sense to me, but if you're a girl, maybe...

"Where's Nessie?" was all I could think of asking.

"She's with Rosalie for a minute," said Bella. "Why don't you sit in the swivel chair?"

I could tell she was lying, but I just couldn't resist the swivel chair.

"Sure," I said, getting in it and, before I spun around in it (it's one of those things you can't help but do in a swivel chair), asking, "When will she be back?"

"Soon," said Edward. "You'll see her in a minute."

"Cool," I said, not trusting him. I spun around a few times in the chair, though not for too long, because Bella rested her finger on the headrest (Isn't it cool that the chair had a headrest?) and stopped me. "What the..."

She revealed some equipment that seemed to plug into the computer, that seemed to have the purpose of capacitating my head. She shoved it onto my cranium, saying, "Don't move, Jake," very quietly, like it hurt her to do this.

"Newborns!" I shouted angrily, not able to see. "What in Jane's name are you doing?"

"It's not going to hurt, Jake," Bella whispered. "We're just doing this...for Renesmee."

"What?" I asked, less hostile. I should have tried to escape, but if Bella said she was doing this for Nessie, and this wasn't going to hurt... Well, I was more than willing.

"Edward?" called Bella. "Do you have it ready?"

"Sure do," he said happily. "I'm starting the process right now."

What process?

Hmmm... What were Edward and Bella doing? It had something to do with me and Nessie, so that life would be better for her. According to them, anyway. So what was it about me that they didn't want for their daughter? Was something wrong with me?

_What a dumb question,_ my mind said. _You're not even human, and you wonder what's _wrong_ with you? _Maybe they were un-werewolfing me. A part of me became really excited. I never wanted to be a giant wolf in the first place. I would be so glad when this was over. Another part of me panicked. What would this do to me? Would it change the way I felt about Nessie?

The answer came to me when I saw her beautiful face. The one line that held me to the earth, to the universe - the one thing I thought would never change - became untied. It did put up a fight, but the force that broke it was stronger than me, stronger even, than the vampires that had led me to the darkest of the lions' dens, all fighting their hardest together. Stronger than any force on the planet.

It broke with such a loud rupture that my entire body went spinning, spinning blindly in the dark, so blindly I forgot it existed, so blindly I forgot the pain of it breaking. And then my line was caught. Another beautiful face poured into me. My steel cable was retied.

Now there was a new center of the universe. Her name was Britney Spears.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sam's Point of View_

"Emily, what kind of wedding colors do you want?" I asked, as we sat on the same chair at her place. We were cuddling and coddling.

"Yellow is pretty," she answered, running her finger down the side of my face.

"But blue is your favorite color," I protested.

The other side of her mouth now turned into a grimace, too. "Yellow is _your_ favorite color."

"But Emily, don't you want--?"

"No," she said insistently. "I want it to be _your_ favorite color."

"But I'm an imprinted werewolf, and I have to do what makes you happy--"

"Why do you have to be so devoted? I want to do something for _you_ for once! Why does the guy always have to be so . . . so . . . I dunno, but I'm tired of this! I want to be a noble lover, too! This imprinted-werewolf-gives-the-object-of-his-imprinting-whatever-she-wants thing is getting old, and sexist! I want to make you happy, Sam."

This surprised me. Emily had never told me she felt like this before. "But you've already given me you," I said quietly. "How could I ask for anything else?"

"That's dumb, Sam. If we're really going to get married, the thing that keeps us together will not be some process of the supernatural. I want to give back to you as much as you've given to me. That's all I want. And since I want this, it sort of comes under your imprinting thing, too. So please just go along with it." She had a fierce look in her eyes, the kind of look that showed she was serious about this. It also showed how much she cared for me.

It was also the kind of look that made feel terrible inside and out. How could I deserve something so wonderful, after everything I'd done? I'd hurt both Leah and Emily - physically and emotionally - and neither of them would ever be the same because of it. I didn't deserve to be happy like this. And now Emily was willing to do all this sacrifice stuff, just so we could have a somewhat normal marriage. I couldn't let her do this.

"No," I said. "I can't let you."

"This is just because of my stupid face, isn't it? I don't--"

The phone rang. "I'll get it," I told her, happy to escape this conversation.

"Hello?" I called into the receiver.

"Hey, Sam? This is Jacob. I was just wondering, um, do you have any fan magazines, with, say, _Britney Spears_ in them?"

Of all the weird things I'd encountered, being a werewolf and all, this was one of strangest things yet. Though I wasn't as close to Jacob as I used to be, I was sure he'd never expressed any interest in Hollywood stars or anything like that. Just cars.

"No," I told him. "I can't stand Britney Spears."

"What?!" He sounded really upset.

"Well . . . it's just all the bad press she's getting, mostly," I crooned, trying to soothe him. "I just wish the media would ignore her. We all know she's been making bad mistakes, so, y'know, let's just get over it."

"Yeah," he said, agreeing with me. "But I need to learn more about her, so we can . . ." His voice trailed off.

Okay, this was getting really scary. He talked about her the way I . . . the same way he would . . .

"But you imprinted on Nessie," I said, confused.

"I _was_ imprinted on Nessie, but things are different now."

"What? _Newborns_, Jacob, you _know_ imprinting doesn't change." Emily was now next to me again, her eyes wide as she listened to my half of the conversation.

"Not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said huffily, "that the Cullens found a way to change imprinting."

"So you're the test run?" I asked angrily.

"They didn't want me to imprint Nessie in the first place," he answered simply. "Everyone's happy now."

I could feel he was telling the truth. He was happy to be imprinted on Britney Spears. Oh, leeches. Imprinted on Britney Spears. Gross.

"So you went down willingly?" I asked, unable to believe it.

"Actually," he explained, "they lured me with a swivel chair and the promise that life would be better for Nessie. And it is."

Doggone it. (A/N: No pun intended.) Just when I was starting to like the Cullens, they go and perform some backstabbing treachery by spurning an imprinter. I hung up the phone, deciding to go down there and give them a piece of my mind.

_Jared's Point of View_

I was walking home from Kim's house, feeling very warm and fuzzy. I could go into a lot of detail about how I felt right then, but you'd get bored, since every other narrator before me has been all emotional and mushy-gushy. I shall only give you the facts, and no catty dialogue between me and Kim.

When I got home, I heard the phone ring. It was creepy because . . . it - rang - the - exact - moment - I - walked - in - the - door. DUN-DUN-_DUN_!! (Cliche detective music cue) I . . . picked up the phone - expecting it to be - Mr. X. However, the real identity of this caller was . . . Jasper Cullen (Whish-hah dramatic fight movements).

"Beware, Jared, Beta of Sam's pack. I will let you know that we have your commanders. That's right - we've kidnapped Sam and Jacob. We will give them back - for - pixie - stix! And coffee. When each of the vampires hailing our cause intake sugar and caffeine, we will be unstoppable. You must meet us at the boundary line at twilight tomorrow - with the loot - to reclaim your leaders. We want twenty boxes and half-pounds of each good. Don't show and we will kidnap other members of your packs.

"Just so you know for sure they're here, we'll let them talk to you:

"Jared!" Sam called, and I knew it was him. "You can't let anyone else get kidnapped by them, especially - "

He was cut off. Then Jacob was on the line. "Sam's overreacting. It's really okay if you do it in the right place at the right time."

_Do what?_ I wondered. Then I heard Jasper's voice again.

"Boundary line. Twilight. Tomorrow. Be there with coffee and pixie stix or else."

And he hung up.

I quickly called the others to a wolf meeting.

_Leah's Point of View_

I didn't understand when Jared told me to come, and bring Seth with me, to an all-werewolves pack meeting. My heart went ice cold when I arrived last and Jacob and Sam still hadn't come. When I heard what had happened, I was angry, so angry I barely listened to the debates going on in the meeting. The elders agreed with us that we should take all of our troops and the loot to the allotted place and time and find out what the bloodsuckers really wanted. I mean, why would they use us to get sugar and caffeine when they could buy it themselves? They had another motive in this.

I was on the trail to find out. My cousin was quite surprised when I came to her house in the middle of the night. "What are you doing here?" she asked casually, but the wonder was evident on her face.

"I need to know how Sam was kidnapped."

Emily sighed. "I told the elders, we got a phone call from Jacob and then he just left. He never explained anything to me." She looked a little sad, maybe even remorseful. She must feel terrible, having had Sam just disappear, leaving her in the dark. Good. Now _she_ would know how that felt.

"That's it?"

"Everything," she concluded.

"Did you hear any part of the conversation?" I asked her.

"A little bit. They were talking about imprinting and how it never changes, and then, for some reason, Sam asked if Jacob was a test run or something like that. Then he used a few terms that were associated with kidnapping." She looked as though she might cry.

"Exact words?" I pressed her.

"Something like 'Newborns, Jacob, you know imprinting doesn't change', and then 'So you're the test run?' The kidnapping terms were 'So you went down willingly?' Jacob said something, and then Sam hung up and left." She put her head in her hands.

"Did you hear anything Jacob said?"

Since her head was still in her hands, Emily's voice came out muffled. "I probably heard wrong. It was something about a swivel chair and Nessie."

Suddenly the information clicked. I knew what I had to do. "Thanks, Emily," I said boldly and walked out the front door without saying goodbye.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I know I don't usually put author's notes at the end of chapters, but this is really important. As of November 15, I will be sending preview passages of the next chapter to anyone who reviews this fic. So, if you like it, review!**


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